transient tales

jessie

title • jessie
date published • 24 may 2021
word count • 139

saw you at the lax game
i was at the sidelines,
reading, as i do.

they screamed your name
as you sprinted— your straw blonde hair a lantern
guiding me from the depths of suffocating boredom

courage oozing from your pores
adrenaline shooting up like a firework
up up up into the sky farther than anyone's gone before
exploding with nothing less than utter brilliance

crackling embers rain down and i bounce with your energy
oh, if only i could burn half as bright as you

a guttural cheer rips from my throat
because it doesnt matter that your flame sputtered and died
it matters that in that moment,
you burned brighter than the sun

for a second (minute)(hour)(day)(week)(month)(year)
i wish i could be you.

for a second
i wish i could be jessie